Improvement in sewing-machine brakes



R. GLADNEY.

Sewing-Machine Brakes.

Patented May 13 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RUFF GLADNEY, OF BUENA VISTA, MISSISSIPPI, ASSIGNOR TO EDWARD H. HOTOHKISS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN SEWING-MACHINE BRAKES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 138,881, dated May 13, 1873 application filed October 8, 1872.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RUFF GLADNEY, of Buena Vista, in the county of Chickasaw and State of Mississippi, have invented an Improved Brake for Sewing-Machines, of which the following is a specification:

The object of this invention is to prevent the shaft of the machine from turning in the wrong direction. It consistsin the combination of anelastic roller with a flexible or swinging bearing-plate, whereby, if desirable for any reason, the aforesaid roller may be readily thrown out of operation to permit the wheel to turn in either direction. Also, it consists in the combination of a notch in the end of the swinging bearing-plate, the journals of the brake-roller, and a head on the end of that journal received by the stationary bearing-plate, whereby said roller is retained in place when shifted out of reach of the flywheel.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a side view of my improved brake, representing a portion of a sewing-machine to which it is applied. Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the same, and Fig. 3 is a plan or top view of the brake alone.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

or other elastic material having a steel spindle or axle, 6, whose ends or journals are supported in the inclined slots of the bearingplates G C, so that the roller shall be in contact with the fiy-wheel B. One of these journals, that which is in the bearing-plate O,

A has formed or otherwise provided on its end a head, f, by which it is prevented from being withdrawn from its bearing-plate. The bearin g-plate C has in'its forward end a notch, g, of suitable size to receive the adjacent journal of the roller D.

The fly-wheel, when running in the proper direction, as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1, simply rotates the roller D within its bearings; but should the wheel by accident be turned in the Wrong direction, as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2, the fly-wheel will run the roller up in its inclined bearings, and thereby wedge it up between the wheel and the table'A till it stops the wheel.

The minute the wheel is reversed to the proper direction the roller is run forward down its inclined bearings, and is then simply rotated by the fly-wheel, as before stated.

Should it be desirable, for any reason, to reverse the machine, to run in the wrong direction, I provide for removing the roller D out of contact with the fly-wheel. To effect this, the roller is laid hold of and the forward end of its bearing-plate O is turned aside to free the adjacent roller-journalfrom it, and the free end of said roller is then pulled forward, and the bearing-plate is allowed to spring back. Then the said journal is fitted into the notch g in the end of the bearingplate, and the roller is thereby supported in a position out of contact with the fly-wheel. To readjust the brake, the bearing-plate G is sprung aside and the free journal of the roller D is shifted to such position that when the plate springs back its slot will pass over the journal and again support it in contact with the fly-wheel.

. Instead of making the bearing-plates of elastic material, I may make them of iron, in which case the plate 0 will be pivoted to the table so that it may be swung aside to cor; respond with the springing aside of the elastic plate, and so enable the position of the roller to be shifted.

Claims.

1.. The combination,with one of the jour-- end of one of said journals, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

RUFF GLADNEY. Witnesses:

MICHAEL RYAN, FRED. HAYNES. 

